Fuse is celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month by looking at a variety of rising forces who are creating Future Asian and Pacific History before our eyes. Today, we're honoring Dean, Korea's alternative-R&B singer-producer to watch that isn't just gaining a huge following thanks to his smooth croons and insane productions, but for refusing to be a singer who follows conventions.

Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Dean (neé Kwon Hyuk) never had a limited viewpoint for how far his music could go. Despite not being totally fluent in English—and a listen to any of his songs would trick into thinking otherwise—Dean began his career by releasing music in English, starting with the impressive Eric Bellinger collaboration "I'm Not Sorry" in mid 2015 that was catered to the U.S. market.

Since then, the now-24-year-old has continued to operate on both sides of the world, releasing more and more impressive music (he landed two songs on the 2016 Billboard critics list of best K-pop songs including the No. 1 pick, "Bermuda Triangle") with more and more impressive collaborators (acts that range from R&B to K-pop to hip-hop including Anderson .Paak, Zico, Taeyeon, Gaeko, Syd) to continue his exciting rise in the music industry.

While his come up has been unconventional, Dean has found success and looks set to keep breaking boundaries in a bigger and more influential way. For example the singer recently released the track "Love" featuring Syd of Odd Future and The Internet fame. While the track is one of his smoothest to date and sees him stepping into a neo-soul world, there's a larger message here by having Syd, a gay woman, and Dean trade off verses featuring lines like "I got intentions baby, but, I’m gettin’ restless babe / I need your blessin’, baby, I’ll f*ck you if you let me baby." Despite gay rights existing in America, the intended audience for this song, gay rights still do not exist in Dean's South Korea with this song ultimately making a larger statement about inclusion and acceptance. With a song like "Love," Dean is further proving that he is not just defying professional and industry conventions, but cultural and social ones too that speak to him having a much larger influence.

With his star only on the rise (he completed a U.S. tour in 2016 and has been performing around the world since) and his list of collaborators only going larger, it's clear that Dean will continue pushing boundaries of what a singer from Korea can accomplish by conquering more genres and industries with his oh-so-smooth vocals, coupled with impeccable writing and production skills.

May 1: Riz Ahmed

"Rizwan Ahmed's 2016 was electric. He began it with the Riz MC mixtape Englistan, then as the star of HBO's feted miniseries The Night Of, which scored three Golden Globe nominations including one for Ahmed as Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film. He ended it as a good-hearted Imperial defector in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which grossed $1 billion..."

May 2: Dinah Jane

"Dinah Jane's love for her Polynesian culture, undeniable talent, love for her fellow Fifth Harmony sisters, warm personality and strides to set a humble and genuine example for young women around the world solidifies her place in the future of Asian/Pacific American history..."

May 3: Constance Wu

"Her role as Jessica on ABC's adaptation of celebrity chef Eddie Huang's memoir has led to her becoming one of the foremost public advocates for diverse representation onscreen, and for accountability for whitewashing and other unconscionable systemic obstacles for oppressed people. She's also one of the clearest voices about working in Hollywood as a Taiwanese American actress..."

May 4: Far East Movement

"Yes, we're highly aware that Far East Movement initially broke out in 2010 with the inescapable No. 1 smash "Like a G6," which was a barrier-breaking moment on its own, but what they've been doing most recently is perhaps even more important and solidifying their place in history even more so..."

May 5: Auli'i Cravalho

"While the likes of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White have recently gotten a bad rap for needing a prince to ultimately secure their happiness, the latest, Moana, brings a whole new, empowering perspective to the gang being voiced by an actress with an inspiring outlook..."

May 6: Bruno Mars

"Along with his too-cool-for-school band The Hooligans, Bruno shows off a natural charisma in his music (which is a mix of funk, pop, reggae and R&B) and on stage. Throughout his career, he continues to strengthen a unique charm that sets himself apart from his peers..."

May 7: Lilly Singh

"With clockwork consistency and luminous positivity, Singh—whose degree was a BA in psychology from Toronto's York University—has created video after video after video exploring a cornucopia of subjects and styles..."

May 8: Dev Patel

"Of course we all know Patel as the toxic, hard partying Anwar Kharral in teen drama Skins and from his breakout role as Jamal Malik in 2008's Slumdog Millionaire. But he has progressed even more as an established actor that the industry and movie fans have fallen hard for..."

May 9: Babymetal

"The Japanese pop-metal trio released their second full-length album Metal Resistance last April leading the group to score a Top 40 album when it debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The LP was their most cohesive...to date and proved how far the ladies can take their unexpected musical style..."

May 10: Ronny Chieng

"...it wasn't until October 2016—when The O'Reilly Factor aired an incredibly offensive on-the-street segment targeting Chinese New Yorkers—that Chieng truly made waves (and headlines). After witnessing Jesse Watters mocking Chinatown locals for a cheap joke, he used his Daily Show platform to deliver a vehement response to what he called 'idiocy...'"

May 11: Darren Criss

"Since his days of playing the beloved Blaine Anderson in the Dalton Academy Warblers, Criss has since gone on to conquer a slew of different areas in Hollywood. He's left his mark in the worlds of...music, Broadway, television, movies, and even festival curation..."

May 12: Hiro Murai

"When Atlanta began inhaling accolades in September 2016, the praise belonged to Murai as much as anyone. He was behind the camera for seven of the 10 episodes, and the first five are all him. The show wound up scoring the Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, with Glover taking Best Actor in a Comedy Series..."

May 13: Jessica Cox

"After three years of training, Cox earned her pilot's certificate in 2008 and is qualified to fly a light-sport aircraft to altitudes of 10,000 feet. Along with being the first armless pilot, she is also the first armless black-belt in the American Taekwondo Association..."

May 14: Ludi Lin

"After post-grad stints in Thailand and Japan to refine his Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu skills, Lin returned to his Canadian stomping grounds to pursue acting. In addition to landing a role on Netflix's Marco Polo series, he displayed his versatility as a multilingual actor by working in Hong Kong and mainland China in films like Monster Hunt and Lost in Hong Kong..."

May 15: Mindy Kaling

"Time magazine named her one of the most influential people of 2012, and two years later, she was on Glamour's Women of the Year list. In addition to her work in film & TV, she's also written two books, and is working on a third, a collaboration with her pal B.J. Novak. She also has over nine million Twitter followers, and a level-headed view of her own career trajectory..."

May 16: Jhené Aiko

"While there are many women trying to make their mark on R&B, Aiko stands out among the genre thanks to her tender, often gripping vocals, unfiltered passion and anger, intense lyric imagery and a sense of pure vulnerability that makes her so relatable. But don't mistake her for being cemented in just R&B..."

May 17: Ross Butler

"He began auditioning for roles that weren't aimed at Asian actors and were, instead, everyday, typical teens. But the media's longstanding habit of ignoring the Asian American narrative meant that everyday Asian teens were rarely portrayed. Butler, whose Riverdale role called for an "American jock," showed that being American doesn't automatically translate to being white...."

May 18: Chris Chann

"Chann was just 16 when he started posting skate videos on his self-titled YouTube channel in 2009. Over the past eight years he's amassed over 700,000 loyal subscribers on YouTube, with 18 of his clips garnering at least one million views..."

May 19: John Cho

"While he's already established himself as a respected actor, his future has the possibility to include even more roles that help shut down Hollywood's exclusivity stereotypes and create more diverse positions for his fellow colleagues who are on the rise..."

May 20: Awkwafina

"Awkwafina isn't particularly new to the scene—initially breaking out in 2012 with her viral, comedy-rap video "My Vag" before co-starring on MTV's Girl Code and launching her web show Tawk—but only recently has the New York City native started breaking out in bigger ways and doing so by being louder and prouder than ever..."

May 21: Eddie Huang

"In 2014, ABC ordered a primetime series based on Huang's memoir—with Huang as producer. Fresh Off the Boat premiered in February 2015 with Constance Wu and Hudson Yang leading its cast, becoming the first American sitcom starring an Asian American family to air on network primetime in over two decades..."

May 22: Hayley Kiyoko

"Hayley's confident she's getting her messages of hope, kindness and understanding out into the world nowadays. She told PopCrush she stays after her concerts and meets everyone looking to say hello, giving her the chance to 'make them feel like they’re not alone and that there’s someone out there who understands them....'"

May 23: BTS

"While they aren't the first, BTS is the latest K-pop act seeing focusing their music on social, mental and political issues connect with an international audience. Songs like "Blood Sweat & Tears" or "I Need U" talk about being dangerously in love, but other tracks like "Whalien 52" heartbreakingly detail loneliness while "Spring Day" acts an inspiration anthem..."

May 24: Dumbfoundead

"...the Los Angeles native grew up in the city's Koreatown neighborhood, where an early exposure to hip-hop via random boom boxes quickly blossomed into a passion for freestyling. Honing his skills week after week at South Central's legendary Project Blowed, Park later frequented the West Coast battle circuit that soon led to a prominent web fan base..."

May 25: Aziz Ansari

"Ansari first got on Hollywood's radar with stand-up comedy tours and playing the sarcastic as hell Tom Haverford in NBC's Parks and Recreation from 2009-2015. The actor later went on to star in Bob's Burgers, Get Him to the Greek, Ice Age: Continental Drift and This Is the End. Yet it was his collaboration with Netflix for Master of None that Ansari truly began to shine..."

May 26: Steve Aoki

"The guy has been known to play more than 300 shows in a year (he's currently booked through Sept. 2), with his outsized live performances involving cake-throwing, stage-diving, champagne-popping and crowd-rafting. The stunts 'are like nutritional supplements,' he wrote on The Daily Beast. 'The real meal is the music....'"

May 27: Kim Chi

"Upon the airing of her Drag Race season Kim Chi became an immediate fan favorite. She now markets her glam-meets-fantasy style, hilarious trademark sayings ("Donut come for me!"), and quirky personality with personalized clothing, accessories and cosmetics, and performs all over the country to adoring audiences..."

May 28: DEAN

"With his star only on the rise (he completed a U.S. tour in 2016 and has been performing around the world since) and his list of collaborators only going larger, it's clear that Dean will continue pushing boundaries of what a singer from Korea can accomplish by conquering more genres and industries with his oh-so-smooth vocals, coupled with impeccable writing and production skills..."

May 29: Charlotte Cho

"With Soko Glam, Cho has firmly established herself as one of the mostexpertvoiceson K-beauty, helping South Korean beauty become a mainstay in North America. Cho works hard to demystify and break down the elusive Korean 10-step routine, which emphasizes the importance of cleaning, treating and protecting skin..."

May 30: Jason Momoa

"Momoa's multicultural concerns have also manifested in activism. In 2015, he opposed the building of the Thirty Meter Telescope at the top of Mauna Kea volcano. 'This is more than an issue for those living on the Big Island, this is [a] global issue of how we are treating our lands,' he wrote on Instagram. '#WeAreMaunaKea represents all of us humans and [our] solidarity towards preserving our natural resources and protecting our native habitats...'"

May 31: Lana Condor

"Back in March, Condor teased the return of her Jubilee character on Instagram. This is clearly only the beginning for the actress, whose Asian heritage isn't being used as a crutch against her in an industry that needs more diversity...."